The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

RACQ backs sacking of tow-truck driver

Queensland's peak motoring body is standing by a decision to sack a tow-truck driver who told a man with a disability to stay in his car while he towed it from the side of the state's busiest motorway.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) of Queensland says the tow-truck driver, whose name has not been released, attended the breakdown callout at the M1's Gold Coast Smith Street exit on June 1.

He decided the fast-moving traffic made it too risky to allow the man to get his wheelchair from the roof of the car so he could make his way to the tow-truck, and asked him to stay in the car while he towed it to a safer location.

The decision to do so was slammed by his employer, the RACQ, which sacked him four days later.

RACQ Executive General Manager Advocacy Paul Turner said the driver, who has more than eight years' experience, breached strict safety standards and put the man in danger.